The invention relates to a device for producing pockets for plants of batteries.
A device for producing pockets for plates and for batteries is known from EP 0 029 017 B. In this known device a separator strip section which can be folded around a plate for a battery to form a pocket is pushed through a folding shaft to a folding site. At the folding site a plate to be jacketed is pushed forward transversely to the folding shaft and the separator strip section of the advanced plate is pulled out of a slot in the folding shaft. The arrangement of the plate and the separator strip section folded around the plate which has been moved out of the folding shaft is grasped by a pair of squeezing rollers and supplied to a device for joining the side edges of the folded separator strip section which run transversely to the fold line to form the pocket.
A similar device for producing pockets for battery plates is known from EP 0 506 645 A. In this device too a separator strip section is prepared in a folding shaft at a folding site and by pushing the plate to be jacketed through a slot it is removed from the folding shaft. The arrangement produced in this way consisting of the folded separator strip and the plate located in between is delivered to further processing by two friction roller pairs.
AT 403 631 B discloses a device for conveying and cropping the separator strip, which has negatively pressurized conveyor belts for pushing the separator strip in a folding shaft. From these conveyor belts separator strip sections are prepared in the folding shaft similarly to as in EP 0 029 017 B and EP 0 506 645 A at the folding site. The separator strip section is pulled out of the folding shaft through a slot by a plate which is to be jacketed for a battery, a plate which has be advanced transversely to the strip.
The problem in the known devices which are equipped with a folding shaft is that it is difficult to prepare separator strip sections at the folding site, to which they must be advanced in the folding shaft, especially for thin and less stiff separator strips, and this often leads to malfunctions so that there is the danger that improperly jacketed battery plates will be obtained.
The object of the invention is to devise a device of the initially mentioned type with which battery plates can be jacketed in separator strip sections even without a folding shaft.
This object is achieved with a device having the features described hereafter.
Preferred and advantageous embodiments of the device are described in detail.
Because in the device of the invention the separator strip sections are not supplied to the folding site in the folding shaft and at the folding site are not prepared in the folding shaft for the folding process, no problems arise with the advance of the separator strip or the separator strip sections through a folding shaft to the folding site. The actual folding process in the device of the invention is likewise without problems, since in the device of the invention it is enough if the separator strip section of the plate to be jacketed which has been moved transversely to the section is moved in the direction to the folding rollers, whereupon it is grasped by the folding rollers and the folding process is carried out without problems. In the device of invention, very thin separator strips can also be processed, since in contrast to the known devices which are equipped with a folding shaft, friction which hinders the actual folding process does not occur, because the separator strip of the plate to be jacketed need not be pushed through a slot in the folding shaft out of the latter.
The aforementioned advantage arises in the device of the invention also in the processing of a stronger/stiffer separator strip since it need not be moved out of the folding shaft through the slot in the folding process.
In particular, in the processing of thin/less stiff/slack separator strip it is preferred when relative to the advance direction of the separator strip after the pair of folding rollers there is a device for tensioning the separator strip section which has been prepared at the folding site, for example, a rotary-driven roller which is supplied with negative pressure. In this way the separator strip section is prepared free of folds and smooth (flat) at the folding site and advantageously supports the actual folding process.